


day 5 - rivalry

by im_on_craic



Series: oikawa rare pair week 2017 [5]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Kinda, M/M, Past Injuries, Rivalry, Track AU, Wheelchair mention, hinata is a lil shit part 7, oiboku are bffs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-06 16:21:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11604333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/im_on_craic/pseuds/im_on_craic
Summary: "He's touchy-feely with everyone," Oikawa says as he throws his bag over his shoulder. Without a word, they stumble out of the club room, Oikawa dutifully locking it up, before taking off in the direction of the setting sun. "I thought he was in love with Kenma for, like, the whole first semester," he points out, and Bokuto groans."Everyone's been in love with Kenma!" Bokuto exclaims, and Oikawa can't really argue with him there.





	day 5 - rivalry

**Author's Note:**

> the prompt kinda got away from me I'm sorry everyone

Hinata shouts from the back of the bus, "maybe we could've beat them if our last leg was actually fast," and Oikawa is shooting up from his seat, wildly searching around for the loudmouth. He catches sight of him leaning over the back of Kenma's seat, as composed as ever as he shoots Oikawa a two-fingered salute. When Oikawa doesn't return the gesture, his bright eyes fall worryingly low, and he adds, "we did our part, Captain. What about you?"

 

Before Oikawa can shoot back his own snarky response, their Coach is shouting at the from the front of the bus, warning them that any more insulting remarks and they'll all be running miles at the next meet. Oikawa zips it, but he doesn't miss the smirk Hinata wears. 

 

When they reach school and collectively shuffle off the bus together, Bokuto catches his arm, falls into step beside him. "Y'know Chibi-chan's just trying to help," he annoyingly reminds him, and Oikawa scoffs. Bokuto doesn't let it phase him, leaning forward every so slightly to get a view of Oikawa's face without standing in front of him. "You guys nearly fumbled your relay exchange for the second time now, Tooru," he goes on, readjusting his bag strap. "Maybe it's time you two fix whatever juicy drama is between you two so we can actually snag first place again."

 

"There's no 'juicy drama' between us," Oikawa defends, but just the thought of Hinata in his mind makes him extraordinarily mad, for some reason. "That shrimp just doesn't know when to shut up."

 

Bokuto's silent for the rest of their walk, an unusual occurrence. But Oikawa doesn't take it for granted, lets himself drown in his thoughts, until Bokuto is turning the corner and waving goodbye to him with an uncomfortable shit-eating grin that's awfully reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat's. He doesn't think too hard on it, though, as a new headache presents itself in the form of his older sister when he gets home. After helping Takeru with his homework, he bathes, ices his knee, and promptly hits the sack. 

 

-

 

The next day, when Oikawa's organizing the club room after practice, the door cracks open, and Hinata pokes his unruly mass of curls in. Oikawa stills by the starting blocks he was organizing to level Hinata with an unimpressed eyebrow raise. Hinata fully steps in, and says, "Bokuto-senpai said you called for me." Oikawa blinks. Hinata blinks right back. When Oikawa looks closely, the kid doesn't even look like he wants to be there. In fact, he looks mad annoyed that he's even in the same room as Oikawa. Rude.

 

"Nope," he responds, and turns his attention back to the task at hand. He's hoping his indifference will make Hinata disappear, because, frankly, he doesn't feel up to arguing with him for a minute longer. 

 

Instead, Hinata shuffles over after clicking the door shut, crouches down beside Oikawa, and begins to sort through the fallen vaulting poles. Oikawa glances at him. "You can go home," he carefully says. Truthfully, he doesn't want to come off as the asshole captain. But at the same time, he doesn't really need Hinata's help. Hinata ignores him. 

 

So, being the mature eighteen year-old in the situation, Oikawa ignores him back. They mutually ignore each other while Oikawa goes about the room organizing shelves of equipment, and Hinata following behind every once in a while. They're in the middle of throwing out empty cans of Biofreeze, Hinata dutifully holding the plastic bag while Oikawa goes through the cans, when Hinata says, "do you hate me?"

 

Oikawa doesn't think much of it, continues popping open the cans and using the roller applicator on the back of his hand, when he responds, "not really." It's a good enough answer that Hinata seems to easily accept. So Oikawa lets him think whatever of it as he continues on with his cleaning duty. 

 

Then, they're checking the throwing weights to make sure none of them have dents, when Hinata says, "Coach asked me to run the last leg of the one hundred-meter relays." And Oikawa hums, pretending to be really focused on the ball weight in his hands in an effort to ignore the tight feeling in the pack of his throat. Hinata's quiet for a moment, before he adds, "I told him I didn't want to."

 

That definitely gets Oikawa's attention, and he drops the weight to the ground, just missing his toes. Both he and Hinata have a collective moment of panic, before Oikawa picks the weight back up and sets it down with the rest of them. This little action gives him enough time to gather his thoughts, and by the time he returns to Hinata, he's muttering, "are you an idiot?"

 

Hinata's wide, worried eyes narrow into two defensive slits. " _Hey_ ," he says, voice solid.

 

Before he can get another word in, Oikawa's quieting him with a raised palm. "I guess you really are," he sighs. Hinata's instantly defensive again, and Oikawa adds, "why the hell would you reject an opportunity like that?" He demands for an answer. Hinata's brows only furrow deeper, and his jaw tightens. Oikawa can't stand this kid. "You know scouts always look at the last runner of the relays more, right? This is your fucking chance to get scouted," he stresses, feeling his own jaw clench. "Why the fuck would you say no?" His voice has raised an octave or two, because he really can't believe he's having to scold his underclassmen for being stupid enough to miss out on an opportunity to prove himself. He makes a tsk sound as he turns away from the silent boy, muttering, "dumb ass."

 

"Because that's your fucking spot, Oikawa-senpai!" Hinata explodes, and Oikawa jumps a little, because he's heard Hinata get loud before, yelling encouragement for his teammates or just shouting because he's happy. But he hasn't really heard Hinata shout like this, voice laced with fury and indignation. Slowly, Oikawa turns back, eyes wary. Hinata's lips are pursed tightly, and his face is every bit overexerted. Oikawa's barely muttering out a what, before Hinata's interrupting him again. 

 

"You're my fucking idol, idiot," Hinata seethes, and his fists tremble. "I've been looking up to you since I was in middle school, because the way you ran was so cool and so fast," he admits, and maybe Oikawa's heart goes soft for a moment. "I was so excited to finally be on the same team as you," he rants on, "and then, when I finally got here, you were in a fucking cast!" He exclaims, waving his hands around frantically. 

 

"Leg brace," Oikawa murmurs under his breath, and Hinata ignores him. 

 

"You could barely walk without crutches for the first half of the semester!" Hinata yells, and Oikawa promptly shuts up. Hinata finally seems to be calming down, closing his eyes and exhaling heavily. When he opens them back up, he almost looks defeated. "I wanted to run wth you so bad," he says, voice low, "but you gave up." Oikawa flinches like he's been physically hit. 

 

He curls his fingers into his palm, the same burdensome feeling of anxiety he'd had during his injury settling back into his chest. For a moment, he almost feels like it's a year ago all over again, and the dread of never being able to run again suffocates him until he's choking out, "my leg's not the same." 

 

Hinata scoffs. "Your leg is all healed and good now, senpai," he's muttering, stepping closer and closer until he's shoving a finger into Oikawa's chest. His big brown eyes are staring into Oikawa's with resentment. " _You're_ not the same," he spits. 

 

And his statement hits straight home, until suddenly Oikawa feels like he's in the hospital again, his sister sitting at his side, getting him everything he needs because he can't fucking move anymore. It's like he's in a wheelchair again, bumping into every single doorframe he encounters, desperately trying to ignore the sympathetic looks thrown his way. Like he's sitting in the club room with his coach, who awkwardly explains to him that universities only scout those who look promising. 

 

His eyes sting a little, and he has to swallow the lump in his throat before he speaks again. "Take my spot, Hinata," he murmurs, head downcast. Before Hinata can't spout some more unneeded truths, he's taking his bag and exiting the club room quickly. He wishes Hinata had just accepted the spot without telling him. 

 

-

 

"Oikawa," the coach calls from the side of the track the next day, beckoning him over. Oikawa switches directions, jogging towards where his coach is sat on a bench. When he gets there, he bends over, hands on his knees, partially so he can see the clipboard on the coach's lap, and partially because he needs to catch his breath. "How should we order the relay for the next practice meet?" He inquires, and then, with a flick of the eyes, gestures for Oikawa to sit beside him. Oikawa's knee is grateful. 

 

"Tendou is the fastest getting out of the blocks, so he put him first," he says, and watches his coach write it down. "Terushima's time has really gotten better, so lets try him for the next leg." His mind runs through a mental list of who else has stepped up their game, and he says, "then put in Kenma after him, and then Hinata for the last leg." 

 

His coach pauses, pen halfway through writing Kenma's name down, to glance calculatingly at Oikawa. "That's usually your leg," he points out, watching Oikawa with curious eyes. 

 

Oikawa shrugs. "He told me you asked him to try running it," he admits, then picks at a loose thread on his knee brace. "The season's just starting," he says, turning his attention to the track field where his teammates are calling out a school cheer as they run their laps. "He's fast for a first-year and has a hell of a lot of potential. He'd help them win every race," he adds, eyes following the lean boy with bright curls. "Yeah," he breathes, mostly to himself, "he'd kill it."

 

Beside him, the older man shrugs, and Oikawa is brought back to reality again. "If you say so, Captain," he replies, and writes Hinata's name down on the line-up. 

 

-

 

"Alright, listen up," Oikawa says at the end of practice, fiddling with the clipboard as he addresses his entire team. "Our next meet is Saturday morning. Starts at nine in the morning, so be here at seven forty-five." There's a collective groan from the young men, that brings a tiny smirk to Oikawa's list. "Coach and I have already decided who's doing what, so shut your mouths and listen for your name and event," he yells, and then starts going through the participants in each event. His heart beats faster and faster with each name he calls, and when he reaches the list of relays, it nearly bursts. 

 

Of course, he still feels antsy, and starts opposite from how he usually lists them, saving the one hundred-meter relay for last. He gulps. "For the four-by-one," he calls out, eyes unnaturally focused on the list before him. "We're starting with Tendou, then Teru and Kenma, and finishing with Hinata." The moment the words leave his mouth, he instantly feels more relaxed, and quickly finishes up his captain pep talk before dismissing everyone to go home. 

 

Maybe he loligags around a bit, triple checking to make sure no one left any water bottles out on the field, and then further lingers around by the pole vaulters, making sure everyone has the right poles, before he finally makes his way to the club room, where the last of his teammates are packing up. He says his goodbyes, and when the door finally swings shut behind the last one, he sighs in relief.

 

He's tugging his shirt off, kind of impressed with how smelly it is, when the door slams open, and he pulls it the rest of the way off (not his best move in a kidnapping situation, he thinks). Hinata's heaving at the door, the straps of his bag half on, and his uniform haphazardly tugged on. He marches over right into Oikawa's personal space, and Oikawa reaches an arm to cover his chest for some reason. 

 

"What the hell!" Hinata shouts, tossing his bag at the lockers with a loud crash. Oikawa flinches a little, reaching into his locker to pull his uniform out. He's tugging his button up back on, eyes flickering between the buttons and the raging shorty before him. "I open your eyes to your sissy ways and instead of changing, you run away even further!" Hinata exclaims, an leans back into Oikawa's bubble again. "Who the hell does that?"

 

Oikawa sighs, finished doing his buttons, and plops down ungracefully onto the bench behind him. "Listen, Chibi—"

 

Hinata barks, "stop calling me that!" And Oikawa jolts back in shock. 

 

"Listen, Hinata," he says a little more carefully, and Hinata stays rigid this time. "Track's over for me already," he explains, rolling his head to the side to level Hinata with a melancholic smile. "I have to see our sports trainer after every single race we do, wear a brace every single time I run, do all this annoying shit all the time," he sighs. "I'll never be as fast as before," he admits, probably for the first time to anyone and himself. 

 

"But," Hinata blurts, eyes wide, "you can still—"

 

Oikawa shushes him, gesturing for Hinata to sit beside him. He compliantly does, sinking down beside Oikawa. "My track scholarships meant everything to me," he says, and glances over at Hinata's confused expression. "I'd never wanna limit the chances of one of my own teammate's getting a scholarship too, y'know," he tells Hinata, and pats his head, much to the younger boy's annoyance. "You're gonna be a star, kid," he grins, and only clamps down harder on Hinata, "I can feel it."

 

He's got the kid in a headlock then, grinning gleefully at Hinata's attempts to worm out of it, when Bokuto throws the door open, all smiles. "Heyyy," he says, and wraps his arms around Hinata's other side, "no making up without me present." Oikawa barks a laughter, loosens his hold on Hinata. "Seriously, I was gonna lock you two in a room until you melted from sexual tension," he huffs, burying his nose into Hinata's curls. 

 

Oikawa says, "sexual what?" At the same time that Hinata shoots up, his head meeting Oikawa's chin in a painful crash, that leaves Oikawa groaning in pain. Bokuto cackles the whole way through, not even making an effort to stop Hinata from bolting out of the room. "Thexua wha?" Oikawa repeats, suddenly aware of how numb his tongue is. 

 

"Oh man," Bokuto says a few minutes later, when Oikawa's still opening and closing his mouth like a fish as he tugs on the rest of his uniform. "Do not tell me you've been completely blind to Hinata's affections for you," he says, and hands Oikawa his tie from the ground. Oikawa blinks in his direction, giving no response. Bokuto snorts. "Oh my god," he breathes, running his hands down his face, "you idiot."

 

"He's touchy-feely with everyone," Oikawa says as he throws his bag over his shoulder. Without a word, they stumble out of the club room, Oikawa dutifully locking it up, before taking off in the direction of the setting sun. "I thought he was in love with Kenma for, like, the whole first semester," he points out, and Bokuto groans. 

 

"Everyone's been in love with Kenma!" Bokuto exclaims, and Oikawa can't really argue with him there. 

 

They continue their trek home, Bokuto expressing his mild displeasure at Oikawa's apparent obliviousness a few more times, before finally settling on prodding Oikawa about his own feelings. Oikawa realizes he never really thought of the shrimp as anything other than a mild inconvenience before, when they'd run the same events, and battle for the better times. When he pushes that away, he realizes Hinata's actually pretty funny. A little loud, but a true comedian. He tells Bokuto as much, only to receive another groan in response. 

 

"No, how do you _feel_ feel," Bokuto stresses, and adds, "does he make your heart tap-dance?"

 

Oikawa ponders it, settles on, "yeah, when he doesn't follow directions, by blood pressure goes crazy," and receives a smack on the shoulder from Bokuto. 

 

"You're a doofus," Bokuto grumbles when they near his corner. "You've never thought Chibi-chan was cute or anything?" Oikawa shrugs, and Bokuto's groans reach such a high pitch, that they're basically whines at that point. "Dude, Chibi-chan is adorable!" He exclaims. 

 

"Are you sure maybe _you're_ not in love with him, Ko?" He teases, beams at the bag swatted his way, and then gleefully waves goodbye to Bokuto's retreating form down the street. 

 

When he gets home, he's once again tasked with the chore of walking Takeru through his homework. He doesn't mind it, finds Takeru actually already knows what the fuck he's doing, and figures his sister just makes Oikawa help out so he doesn't lock himself in his room and fall asleep at eight thirty like someone's grandfather. They finish quickly enough, and Oikawa scampers off to the shower, before promptly laying to rest at eight forty-five. 

 

He spends a good fifteen minutes staring up at the ceiling, recapping the day's events in nineteen-fifties film role style. There's a painfully long pause when he recalls Hinata's round eyes in the club room, and another one when Bokuto had mentioned sexual tension. Then, as if his mind hates him, his brain repeats hinata's affections for you, over and over like a scratched record. 

 

To make matters worse, when morning finally rolls back around, his brain still hasn't stopped replaying the words, and he stumbles to school in some half-trance, where Bokuto takes one look at him before immediately dissolving into snickers. Oikawa can't stand him. 

 

"You're in loooooove," Bokuto teases, slinging an arm across Oikawa's shoulders. Oikawa has neither the strength or will to brush him off, and lets Bokuto talk his ear off the entire walk to their classroom. "So tell me, Oikawa Tooru," Bokuto says when they sit. "How long have you been in love with your underclassmen?" Oikawa groans in displeasure, letting his head it the desk with a thud, before trying to shut out Bokuto's incessant torture. 

 

When lunch time rolls around, Bokuto still hasn't let up, in fact, has gotten Oikawa to actually admit it, and continues prodding for answers like an annoying toddler. "Was it the smile? Or maybe the bright-ass hair that I still can't believe is not dyed?" Bokuto asks, and Oikawa ignores him. 

 

During the last class of the day, Bokuto leans over and whispers, "or maybe you fell in love with his long, smooth legs?"

 

And it's like the heavens want to curse Oikawa or something, because he can't look at Hinata during practice anymore without seeing all that lean leg muscle and his tiny running shorts. Seriously. He has to talk with the relay teams that day, too, and he awkwardly finds himself talking mostly to Kenma when he addresses their team. Which is another mistake, because beautiful, quiet smart-as-all-hell Kenma figures him out quickly. 

 

"Are you in love with Hinata?" He inquires when he goes to retrieve the baton from where Oikawa has accidentally walked off with it. 

 

Oikawa groans, slams his head onto the clipboard, and then has to apologize to the coach for attempting to concuss himself before a meet. "No!" He exclaims, and hen shrinks when Kenma's expression doesn't even change. He chokes out a tiny, "I-I don't know, okay?" Which Kenma accepts as an answer before snatching the baton from his grasp and retreating to his team. Probably to snitch on Oikawa, he thinks.

 

When practice is finally over and everyone's leaving, Oikawa finally lets himself breathe again. He's locking up the club room, Bokuto long since having abandoned him, the fucker. When he tugs on the door to make sure it locks, he whirls around, only to come face to face with Hinata's beautiful brown eyes. He maybe gasps in shock, but no on aside from Hinata can attest to that. His heart is hammering in his chest when Hinata leans close and blurts, "do you hate me?" Oikawa gets a wild bout of deja vu in that moment, which he quickly shakes off. 

 

"N-No," he responds, and then glances away to the orange sky. "Why?" He asks, the keys jingling in his hands from how severe his hands are trembling. 

 

Hinata steps even closer, until Oikawa feels like he's suffocating, and says, "I thought you would because of what Bokuto-senpai said yesterday," in a small voice. Oikawa finally musters the courage to look at him again, noting the rising flush on Hinata's cheeks and the cute way his lips move back and forth. 

 

"Um," he drawls, "well, I, uh, don't," he says. Then jumps a little to awkwardly add, "hate you, that is."

 

Hinata nods. Then it's his turn to look away from Oikawa, fingers toying with the streps of his backpack while his feet shuffle back and forth. "I-It's weird," he babbles, cheeks even redder than before. "But," he breathes, and then Oikawa can physically see himself gathering his courage when his eyes go rigid and his chest puffs up and he meets Oikawa's gaze. His nose is adorably red when he says, "I won't bother you with my crush, senpai."

 

Oikawa is frozen in place, his hands having finally quit their quivering. He's surprised, to say the least. He'd expected to see the fury, loudmouth Hinata he'd been seeing the last couple days. Maybe, he'd been expecting another shouting match, so he could tire himself out for the day. But the sight of Hinata in all his blushing glory, voice ridiculously strong, makes his heartbeat fall into a warm, comforting pace that brings a smile to his face. 

 

He maybe laughs a little. To be fair, it kind of escapes him, his little chuckle, and he quickly reaches a hand up to cover his mouth. His own cheeks tint pink a little, and he stares down at Hinata with wide eyes. "Um," he trails off, clears his throat as he looks to the side a little. "Can I," he starts, and his voice embarrassingly cracks a little. His cheeks are on fire. But the memory of Hinata gathering all his courage to speak to Oikawa is clear in his mind, so he does the same. "Can I take you on a date?" He questions, this time with an unwavering voice. 

 

Hinata is like a deer caught in headlights then, cheeks slowly reddening until the flush creeps up his ears and down his neck. "Yes!" He exclaims, surges forward to grasp Oikawa's free hand in both of his. Then, as if remembering himself, he pulls away, coughing out a smaller, "yes," behind his knuckles. 

 

And Oikawa laughs again at the sight of the captivating boy before him, steps intimately closer, until he can feel Hinata's quick breaths fanning across the lower half of his face. His forwardness is on level one hundred then, and he's going as far as grasping for Hinata's warm palms. When his laughter dies down, he hears the unmistakable chuckles of Hinata, and when he ducks his head down, he catches sight of the blindingly bright smile Bokuto had mentioned before. 

 

And if he leans down and kisses Hinata, basks in the softness of his lips, Bokuto can prod all he wants. Oikawa doesn't kiss and tell. 

**Author's Note:**

> not proofread lol whats new  
> my tumblr is salty-yu !!!!!


End file.
